About us

Established in 2023, Assembly Press is a fiercely independent publisher of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that is notable for engaging with contemporary issues with thoughtfulness, incisiveness, and passion in equal measure.

Masthead

Publisher photo: Leigh Nash

Leigh Nash, Publisher

 

“I love narratives that tackle big questions and themes from wide-ranging voices and perspectives that are smart and utterly committed to the art of surprising the reader.”

 

Leigh Nash was most recently the publisher at House of Anansi Press. Prior to that, as the publisher of Invisible Publishing, Leigh expanded the publishing program and shaped an editorial identity that has been met with significant critical acclaim and major literary award nominations. She has also worked for Coach House Books, served on the boards of eBOUND Canada, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and currently teaches in the Creative Book Publishing program at Humber College. She is a writer herself, with an MFA in Creative Writing, and has published one poetry collection, Goodbye, Ukulele.

Strategist photo: Andrew Faulkner

Andrew Faulkner, Strategist

 

“I value exploration, surprise, and passion over authority; a manuscript does not need to be comprehensive on its subject as long as it brings something new or interesting to the table.”

 

Andrew Faulkner is a long-time literary arts organizer and the former managing editor of Invisible Publishing. A graduate of the University of Guelph’s MFA in Creative Writing, he’s also written two books of poetry published by Coach House Books (Need Machine and Heady Bloom) and was shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Andrew’s edited numerous well-lauded books of poetry and nonfiction that offer thoughtful and surprising looks at contemporary issues. He’s founded a literary magazine (Ottawa Arts Review), chapbook press (The Emergency Response Unit), an editing firm (Re:word Communications), and a reading series (PEP Rally in Picton, ON). 

Communications photo: Debby de Groot

Debby de Groot, Communications

 

“I feel strongly about amplifying underrepresented voices, particularly the feminine.”

 

 

Debby de Groot has been active in the book trade in South Africa, England, and Canada since 1982. She worked at Willian Collins & Sons, Southern Book Publishers, and African Book Centre as a bookstore sales rep, product manager, and sales and marketing director before operating as a consultant selling publisher’s books in Southeast Africa. After immigrating to Canada in 1997, she moved into publicity at Key Porter Books, McClelland and Stewart, Penguin Pearson Canada, and House of Anansi Press, and has operated as an independent freelance publicist for fifteen years as MDG & Associates.

Assembly is a new kind of company purposefully designed to ameliorate many of the current issues faced by traditional book publishers. We have years of experience working in literally every area of publishing, from operations to editorial to accounting to publicity and sales. This means we have a unique understanding of how all the different publishing pieces fit together, and of how we can reshape them into a modern independent book publishing company designed to thrive in today’s climate.

We do this by partnering with our authors to centre their goals throughout the whole publishing process, by cultivating supportive author-editor relationships, and executing author-centric, flexible, long-term promotion and marketing plans.

The work undertaken by Assembly Press happens on traditional Indigenous territories across Canada, and we are grateful to live, serve, and create on this land. Most frequently, our team operates in the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee people in Prince Edward County, and the lands which constitute the present-day City of Mississauga as part of the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations.

We recognize that as settlers we are inheritors of a legacy of inequity, and through our work, we strive to improve equity in the literary arts. We encourage you to learn more about the land you occupy by visiting Native-Land.ca and to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action, especially as they related to language and culture, and consider how you might help implement them.

Ordering & Distribution

Assembly Press titles are available from fine local booksellers across North America. To find your local independent bookseller, visit the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association or IndieBound in the US.

You can also order direct from us on this very website. Price and availability information is subject to change without notice. All sales are in Canadian dollars.

All sales are final; no refunds or exchanges. Items may be replaced at our discretion if damaged in transit. Please contact us with specific inquiries by email.

If you’ve purchased a print book from our site, you will receive an order confirmation immediately and a second email once your order has shipped.

If you’ve purchased an ebook from our site, you will receive an order confirmation immediately and download instructions shortly thereafter. Digital files are available in EPUB (and sometimes PDF) formats. If you don’t receive download instructions, please send an email and we’ll help you out.

If you have a query about an order placed on this site, please email info@assemblypress.ca.

Publishers Group Canada
128A Sterling Road, Suite 201
Toronto, ON | M6R 2B7
416 934 9900 | Fax: 416 934 1410
Toll Free: 800 747 8147
info@pgcbooks.ca
www.pgcbooks.ca

Order Desk and Customer Service:
Raincoast Book Distribution
2440 Viking Way | Richmond, BC | V6V 1N2
7 a.m.–4:30p.m. PST | 604 448 7100
Toll Free: 800 663 5714 | Toll Free Fax: 800 565 3770
customerservice@raincoast.com

Consortium Book Sales & Distribution
The Keg House
34 Thirteenth Avenue NE, Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55413-1007
612 746 2600
www.cbsd.com
ips@ingramcontent.com

Inquiries

For all media and review copy requests contact debby@assemblypress.ca and include details of title(s) requested, publication in which the review will appear, your full contact information, and whether you’d prefer a digital or hard copy.

Please email andrew@assemblypress.ca.

Please email leigh@assemblypress.ca.